Many of you know me, and I worked with many of you during my time at CSI. I think the questions being raised about CSI leadership and finances are fair and worth asking.
Here is the context as I understand it.
In late 2019 and 2020, CSI reported a significant income event tied to the sale of BSD SpecLink (a software company). My understanding is that this cash infusion helped offset ongoing declines in membership, certifications, education, and publication revenue. Around the same period, CSI was also working to exit the contract for the CONSTRUCT show, and COVID created an opportunity to do so.
Over the last few years, leadership has taken several short-term steps that improved the appearance of the financials, but may have come with long-term tradeoffs.
Key examples include:
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The BSD sale was the largest one-time action, reportedly close to $17M.
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CSI chose not to renew the riverfront office lease and moved to a smaller space on Pitt Street in Alexandria. That likely reduced rent and supported staff reductions. At the same time, the new space was renovated, which added costs.
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The CDT renewal process shifted to require paid renewals, including for people who understood the certification as lifetime. Many members viewed this as a way to quickly bring in cash.
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The MSR was adjusted, and the Annual Conference was launched. These changes also created new revenue opportunities from members and sponsors, with limited new content.
On the technical side, members were often told that major updates were on the way. Behind the scenes, many committees and working groups were reduced or shut down, and development slowed. Crosswalk was heavily promoted even as the technical function and institutional knowledge around CSIs classification and standards work declined. From the backend, CSI has produced limited substantive technical output since roughly 2021.
Operationally, after the CEO relocated to Santa Fe and COVID reduced in-office work, the Alexandria-based staff largely resigned or were laid off. By 2023, most remaining staff positions were eliminated, the main office was shuttered (only a few years after paying to have it completely renovated), and day-to-day operations were moved to an outside management company based in Tennessee, covering communications, web, billing, membership, sales, and social media. The last two staff members that I know of, besides the CEO, had left CSI by the end of 2024.
As of today, CSI appears to function largely through contracted support, with the CEO as the only permanent staff member. Members need to realize that they are funding the salary of a single employee, hellbent on controlling all communication channels while trying to make the books look less bad, despite still spending way too much money on things that do nothing more than offend members and dress up the windows of an empty storefront.
